Trampoline enclosures are structures that surround a trampoline mat to protect jumpers from accidents resulting from falling off the trampoline or colliding with the frame or springs. Currently available enclosures are supported by a series of upright enclosure poles that attach to the outside of the trampoline frame and extend straight up. The enclosure net is usually attached to the enclosure pole by an upper steel top-rail. The disadvantage of this type of attachment is that it can be difficult and tedious to put together the upper top-rail and attach it to the enclosure poles. Also, two or more individuals are typically required to install the enclosure properly.
Further, the current means of attaching an enclosure net to a trampoline involves the attachment of the enclosure net to a series of upright enclosure poles that are attached to the exterior of the trampoline frame. There are several disadvantages to having enclosure poles that attach to the exterior of the frame. For example, the enclosure poles attached to the exterior of the frame could cause injury to adults, children, or pets who may be walking or playing around the trampoline. Moreover, this type of attachment typically requires enclosure poles to be attached to every leg support to keep the net taut, which requires additional parts and tedious work for each additional enclosure pole.
Additionally, the current methods to package and ship a trampoline are burdensome due to the awkward shape of the component parts. The component parts of a trampoline are typically shipped in large containers and are arranged in such a way as to create gaps of empty space inside the box. This causes the containers to be larger than necessary, making the containers difficult to handle and expensive to store and ship. Some current configurations require the trampoline and the enclosure to be packaged in separate containers, making it even more burdensome and expensive to handle and ship.
Consequently, a need exists to for an enclosure net that can be easily and quickly attached to a trampoline. Further, a need exists to protect the safety of those that are present around the exterior of the trampoline by moving the enclosure poles from the exterior of the trampoline while also reducing the number or enclosure poles required and reducing the number of parts required to attach the enclosure poles. Finally, a need exists to improve the packaging of trampoline component parts to make the trampoline containers smaller, easier to handle, and less expensive to store and ship.